The Brooklyn-based musical collective will perform twice in the Toledo area as part of its Midwest tour May 11 and 12.

Inland Traveler

The trio consists of singer-songwriters Gerald Edward, Katie Locke and Toledo-native Lucas Madrazo. An eclectic blend of Americana and modern influences, Inland Traveler has a refreshing emphasis on harmony and storytelling hearkening back to the vocal-heavy supergroups of the 1970s.

Last fall, the group released its debut EP, “Rivers Always Run” after a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Inland Traveler toured in Ohio at the end of 2012 and including a performance at The Tree Bar in Columbus and an intimate dinner show for a packed and dimly lit dining room at The Happy Badger in Bowling Green. Its upcoming concerts will be just as special.

On May 11, Inland Traveler will play a show at The Millennium Theatre at Maumee Valley Country Day School at 7 p.m. There is a $10 suggested donation with the majority of proceeds benefiting FOCUS Toledo in honor of Mother’s Day.

FOCUS is an organization aiming to provide the necessary skills and steps to emerge from homelessness and poverty, and gain economic and social stability in the Toledo area.

The trio will return to The Happy Badger on May 12 for a dinner concert. Guarantee a seat and dinner by making reservations through The Happy Badger. This evening will be a pleasure for all of your senses, with an exclusive and locally sourced Spring Supper Club menu from the Badger.

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Jurich: The Great Glass City CleanUp

here are parts of our landscape in Toledo that are not accentuated by beautiful flowers, inspiring architecture, public art or community parks, but by litter.

Next time you are out walking, biking or driving, start to take notice of the garbage, particularly near highway entrances and exits and near stoplights. Consider the implications when you see a smoker toss a cigarette butt onto the ground or out the window. Unfortunately, the litter will not be hard to notice.

Fortunately, the Great Glass City CleanUp will address the litter plague. This citywide cleaning event will make history by removing litter from the City of Toledo and the surrounding cities from 2-5 p.m. April 6. The cleanup is hosted by The LitterBugz, an organization started in the business school at the University of Toledo. The LitterBugz work to help keep Toledo clean and help small, locally owned businesses.

According to the group’s website, the two most common reasons people litter are inadequate disposal containers or trashcans and being careless of their surrounding environment: “These two reasons describe the most important factors that lead to littering. The purpose of The LitterBugz is to increase recycle awareness, which would urge citizens to care about the surrounding environment.”

The LitterBugz hope is to provide receptacles trash and cigarette butt disposal, while educating the youth and eliminating the act of littering entirely.

The LitterBugz sectioned the Glass City (including Holland, Maumee, Perrysburg, Rossford, Sylvania and Toledo) into 10 districts and surveyed the territory to make a litter grid. During Saturday’s CleanUp, volunteers will begin in areas with the most litter, before spreading into cleaner and cleaner areas. “A clean community… can discourage littering and improve community appearance and quality of life,” according to The LitterBugz website.

To tackle the trash in the Glass City, volunteers are needed for the Great Glass City CleanUp on April 6. Volunteers on the day of the event will receive a T-shirt that says ‘iHATE TRASH’ and ‘iDON’T LITTER’ wristbands as well as free food and drinks. Volunteers can receive discounts by wearing their T-shirt into certain businesses (details on LitterBugz website).

There are 13 volunteer meet-up locations (listed on the website) where volunteers will meet at 1:45 p.m. for the Great Glass City CleanUp on April 6. Maps and safety instructions will be given to volunteer groups of five.

If your business, church, organization, workplace or family wants a cleaner community, The LitterBugz welcome volunteer support and donations of money or supplies (gloves, rakes, brooms, bags) to help accomplish the goal of not only cleaning up trash but diminishing the amount of litter on the ground in the future.

For more information and to volunteer at the Great Glass City CleanUp on Saturday April 6 from 2-5 p.m., visit www.thelitterbugz.org.

Jurich: One billion rising

In 2004, as a student at Ohio State, I auditioned for the “The Vagina Monologues,” not having any idea why, and little idea of what I was actually doing. I showed up to audition in a small room in the basement of the Student Union with two older female students who made me very nervous. I selected a monologue from “The Vagina Monologues” titled “The Flood” and performed it at the audition with a southern accent. I suppose I thought highly of my accent, knowing that my superior inflection skills would wow the judges, and thus earn me a spot in the cast.

I did earn a spot, although I was asked to choose an alternate monologue; my friend Laura was going to perform “The Flood” (in the suggested Jewish Queens accent), a monologue based on an interview with a 72-year-old woman who had never seen her vagina nor had an orgasm. I decided on the monologue “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could,” the story of a young girl whose experiences with her vagina are through pain, violation and embarrassment, and she is renewed with her self, spiritually and physically, through the guidance of a “lesbian cougar” down the street (I still performed it with some sort of accent).

Since the time of my on-stage debut, I have learned that my fond “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could” (and other aspects of “The Vagina Monologues”) are actually quite controversial. In the original version of the story (1994), the 13-year-old female character is given alcohol and has sex with a 24-year-old woman, which, ironic to “The Vagina Monologue’s” mission, is statutory rape. The original piece ended with the line, “ … it was a good rape.” This raised the question from Robert Swope in 2000, “Why is rape only bad when a man commits it?” Subsequently, the character’s age has been changed to 16 and the line about “a good rape” has been removed.

Further critiques condemn Eve Ensler, playwright of “The Vagina Monologues” and founder of V-Day, a “global activist movement to end violence toward women and girls” through performances of “The Vagina Monologues,” large-scale benefits, campaigns, educational tours, films and more activities.

For example, in John Hembling’s 2011 piece for “A Voice for Men,” he attacks Ensler’s frivolousness with the word rape, her carelessness in citing her numbers, and her violation of the principal “Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius,” meaning “expression of the part excludes consideration of the whole.” Hembling argues that Ensler should not talk about rape while excluding the fact that “twice as many men are raped in American prisons than women are raped in the entire United States” and that “men are routinely raped in wars on the African continent.”

These tensions become more relevant as energy amplifies approaching Feb. 14, a day many Americans celebrate as dutiful capitalists (and romantics and lovers) and the day that Ensler and many feminists around the world have been celebrating as V-Day (V for victory, vagina, valentine) since 1998.

This year, V-Day has launched the One Billion Rising (OBR) campaign to honor its 15th anniversary. Leading the movement is the motto, “One billion women violated is an atrocity. One billion women dancing is a revolution.”

According to its website, onebillionrising.org, OBR is “A global strike;?An invitation to dance;?A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends;?An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers;?A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given;?A new time and a new way of being.”

A Day of Rising at Elizabeth’s House — from noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 14, Elizabeth’s House.

Valentine’s Day originates as the eve of Lupercalia, the Pagan Roman festival of fertility, yet across the centuries has come to include many variations. Across the board, however, Valentine’s Day is a symbol of love. The V-Day efforts may have some holes, but they can be filled with cooperation, understanding and education to end rape, brutality, mutilation and abuse of all genders, and create a global status quo of love. Do your part.

Jurich: Green in the new year

Health goals are likely among the most common New Year’s resolutions, yet not necessarily the easiest to conquer. It can be hard to know where to start and even more challenging to keep the momentum going throughout the year and develop new, healthier, sustainable habits.

For those looking for a healthier diet or weight loss through changes in eating habits, I recommend incorporating green smoothies into your daily meal plan. Not only are they extremely healthy and delicious, green smoothies are easy to make and easy to habituate to.

Green smoothies are different than your standard fruit smoothie because of the addition of greens, as in spinach, kale, broccoli or even celery. To get started, you will need a blender. A Vitamix is ideal because of its lasting capability to blend your solids into an amazing liquid; however, a less expensive high-powered blender will also do the job. Then, choose a base for the smoothie. I personally use plain kefir, but yogurt is a great option as well. Like many items, there are probably close to a hundred yogurt options at the store, so choose wisely; a lot of yogurts are loaded with an unhealthy amount of sugar and weird extra ingredients. Nondairy options for a base include soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk or fruit juice, although the latter can add unnecessary sugar as well.

From there, add one or more cups of water, depending on how many people the smoothie is serving and your desired consistency. Next, add the greens. Spinach is my smoothie green of choice for several reasons. It’s inexpensive (I buy at the Toledo Farmers’ Market in season and Rhodes Garden), it’s super-duper healthy — it contains more nutrients per calorie than any other food on Earth (according to care2.com), and unlike other greens, its flavor is not overpowering and is unnoticeable in the smoothie. Carrots are a no-brainer for my smoothies as they, too, have a nondominant flavor (although my boyfriend disagrees), add extra vitamins and minerals and are inexpensive. (Make sure you blend the drink enough to grind up the carrots!)

You will want to add fruit to the mix to add some sweetness to balance out the vegetables. Bananas are an excellent staple. I peel a bunch or two at the same time, break the bananas in half, store them in the freezer and use one or two halves per smoothie. (Browning bananas are usually marked down and are great for smoothies). Apples are a simple fruit option because they are sweet and cheap, and often local. The other fruit that I add depends on season and price. I buy or harvest what is in season locally, otherwise I buy what is marked down. Rhodes on Monroe Street frequently has excellent sales on berries. I freeze all the berries (and spinach, by the way) for preservation and to ensure a refreshingly cold smoothie. Oranges (vitamin C boost), pears and mangos are all delicious choices.

Once all of your whole, raw foods are in the blender, you can get creative with the supplements, herbs and seasoning. My must-have is spirulina, an edible blue-green algae that also qualifies as a “superfood.” It is a dark green powder and can be purchased at the Phoenix Earth Food Co-op (and apparently now at Costco, as well). Spirulina is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential amino acids and the list of benefits is substantial and amazing. This could be a game-changer for many. Find a way to bring it into your body as soon as possible.

I also add hemp powder to my smoothies for protein, but many people like to add whole nuts like almonds or walnuts or nut butter like almond or peanut butter. A friend of mine taught me to add cinnamon and nutmisleg to my smoothies every day, not only for flavor but nutritional value, and I also add a small amount of peeled, raw ginger when it’s on hand, which makes for a really exciting taste. Fresh parsley is another herb I recommend for smoothies — it’s extremely nutritional and cheap, and if you add the right amount (a few sprigs), its taste goes unnoticed.

Now blend that all up and you have a densely nutritious and delicious drink. Each morning when I have a green smoothie, I feel content and happy knowing that I’ve already ingested so many healthy and nourishing foods.

A friend introduced me to green smoothies through the book “Green Smoothie Revolution” by Victoria Boutenko, for which I am eternally grateful. She offers recipes and pointers in the book and online. Good luck with your New Year’s resolutions, whatever they may be, and may 2013 be healthy and wholesome.

Jurich: Shift your shopping — buy local

The holiday season is inarguably one of the biggest spending times of the year. People are buying gifts, decorations, holiday outfits, more than usual amounts of groceries, spirits, dining out, having drinks with old friends and guests … you name it.

For every one of these dollars spent locally, 68 percent stays in our local economy, as opposed to only 34 percent when spent at a national chain, according to the American Independent Business Alliance.

That is the message Toledo Choose Local (TCL) is shouting this holiday with the second annual Shift Your Shopping Campaign.

The objective of Toledo Choose Local’s Shift Your Shopping campaign is to create awareness about Toledo’s vibrant local economy by letting shoppers know about alternatives to the big boxes and nonlocal retailers and restaurants.

TCL is launching the campaign Nov. 30 at the Arts Commission’s Holiday Loop in Downtown Toledo.

According to the Art Commission’s website, the inaugural Holiday Loop will “aid shoppers in ‘hopping’ venues to find unique, one-of-a-kind, locally produced and handmade gifts.

The bus loop will travel between Downtown, UpTown, and the Old West End to offer holiday shoppers a fun and unique shopping experience, all while promoting local arts and artists, and helping to celebrate and strengthen Toledo’s local economy.”

TCL will participate in the Holiday Loop by taking over 610 Adams St. (a stop on the free bus loop) as a retail location hosting several of its independent business members who do not have a location Downtown and could not otherwise participate in the loop.

This pop-up location will feature children’s art on the walls and music, as well as massages and photoboothlive.

Toledo Choose Local will hand out literature about the Shift Your Shopping campaign to make it easy for shoppers to continue their holiday shopping (and dining!) at locally owned independent businesses throughout Toledo and the surrounding suburbs.

TCL has created special holiday shopping maps offering local alternatives to the big boxes.

Shopping local is the gift that keeps on giving. Your hard-earned dollars spent locally will stay local, continuing to impact Toledo’s economy over and over again — until they’re spent at a big box and likely leave our community.

Everyone benefits from a healthy and vibrant economy, one that has reliable and invested locally owned businesses at its core.Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do, according to the Institute for Local Self Reliance.

If you care about Toledo, put your money where your heart is — buy local!

Jurich: A raised-eyebrow review of GreenTown

Recently, the “GreenTown: The Future of Community” conference came to Toledo to “drive to create a healthier, more prosperous and sustainable Toledo-Lucas County.”

“GreenTown is a zero waste, carbon neutral event designed to ‘connect the dots’ between the public and private sector to create a stronger platform for common ground and building community,” according to its website.

I was curious to hear from a few acclaimed activists and leaders in sustainability who would be visiting Toledo for the conference, yet I was also skeptical because GreenTown is more or less a franchise conference that travels the Midwest. It is co-produced by a5, a Chicago-based marketing and communications firm, and Seven Generations Ahead, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “build healthy, sustainable communities.”

I raised an eyebrow at the $125 registration fee, which would mean a person working a minimum wage job would have to work 15 hours to register. I was and am doubtful of Mayor Mike Bell’s idea of sustainability and how he intends to “green Toledo.” I wondered if GreenTown was the latest corporate greenwashing trend or carried any legitimate prospects for the future of our city and our planet.

The main conference opened with a “Call to Action” by Mayor Bell, Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak, and two of the conference co-producers. This was a thank you to the sponsors, an expression of excitement about the guest speakers and prospective outcomes, an acknowledgement of the number in attendance (Toledo’s GreenTown registration was larger than any other, more than 450) and an emphasis on different parts of the community working together.

During a short break between Mark Fenton, host of “America’s Walking” on PBS and Alexandra Cousteau, filmmaker and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, I had a chance to chat briefly with Mayor Bell. He had mentioned several times in his speech about “moving this forward,” so I asked him what that meant and what sustainability initiatives he intends to implement. Fortunately, his public information officer showed up quickly because as his eyes darted around and he repeated the simple ideas put forward by the most recent speaker, like benches and sidewalks and bike racks, I could tell he was at a loss.

I heard from the following officials, directly or publicly: Jen Sorgenfrei, public information officer; Tim Murphy, commissioner of environmental services; Patrick McLean, director of finance; Kevin Moyer, executive director of energy efficiency and alternative energy programs for Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. I gleaned from them that there is currently a strong focus and decent amount of funding for energy efficiency in buildings (both city-owned and privately owned), sequential implementation of green infrastructure (solar), considerations for “complete streets” to be included during regular construction and road improvements and a commitment to include environmental sustainability in the upcoming city budget.

According to Sorgenfrei, the GreenTown Conference is a catalyst to develop a sustainability plan for the City of Toledo, based on feedback from conference participants and input from the people as to a vision for a sustainable Toledo.

GreenTown afternoon sessions included: LiveWell Toledo-Lucas County; Sustainability and Community Planning; Green Economy, Green Living; Lake Erie: Our Shared Future; Green Building, Fresh Energy; Local Food; Green Outdoors. A hallmark of the franchised conference is a closing reception with beer from the local brewery. Toledo’s was no different with microbrews provided by Maumee Bay Brewing Co.

I was pleased to see a zero waste effort at the conference at SeaGate Centre, which included composting, no throwaway cups or mugs, recycling and cloth napkins for lunch. I also enjoyed the food and drinks provided by our hometown, including Flying Rhino Coffee, We-B-Ribs (shout out to the peach cobbler), Toledo GROWs and more.

This conference is on the right track. The track to sustainability needs to include even more participants, especially at the grassroots level. Most importantly, the track needs to give the well-being of our environment a prominent voice and heavy consideration in economic development discussions. “Ecology” and “economy” share the same root of “ecos,” meaning home. A strong and sustainable economy and a balanced home cannot exist without a strong and sustainable ecology.

Jurich: Maumee Fishin’

A few summers ago, I lived Downtown in a warehouse, a football field’s throw in one direction to the Amtrak station and in the other to the Maumee River. On my way home late afternoons and on my way out in the mornings, I’d route myself to stop by the riverfront by the old Murphy’s. This stretch in front of Promenade Park is where you are likely to find some urban fishing.

There was one fisherman in particular I liked to visit. He was a veteran who lived Downtown and would fish almost every day, all day. He’d bring a thermos full of coffee, fishing gear and cigarettes. We became friends of sorts. He got a kick out of me riding my bike all over the place and I got a kick out of his Jeep factory stories and the way he pronounced fish, like “feesh.”

I was also intrigued, mostly confused, by watching him throw cigarette butt after cigarette butt into the water where he fished. It would not have surprised me if he had reeled in his line to find one of those butts on the hook. But instead he would pull in catfish and sell him to a shop owner who would then sell them or cook them. My friend didn’t sell them for much, but at least someone found value in Maumee catfish.

I’ve only fished in the Maumee four times. The first time I went fishing was at International Park, at night, in high school. It was probably illegal and I’m embarrassed to say what we used as bait. That time doesn’t count.

The second occasion was with the aforementioned “accomplished” fisherman friend. I caught a rubber glove, the yellow kind you clean with, and a plastic bag, like a mini zip bag.

The next urban fishing experience was on a really windy day with my friend Michelle. We were just down the way from where my friend would successfully fish, over by the docks that are always covered with white bird crap. Again, I caught a piece of garbage.

My latest attempt (but not final) was again with Michelle, but we thought we’d increase our chances at a catch by moving away from Downtown. It was sunset in Waterville, trying our chances with a variety of baits. Our intentions were strong, but alas, we went home with our heads-a-hangin’.

The part of the Maumee that passes through Downtown is actually a freshwater estuary, a transition zone where the mixing of lake and river water occurs, which “influence(s) important ecological processes,” according to Wisconsin’s Freshwater Estuary Initiative. Collectively, the Great Lakes form the largest surface freshwater system in the world and represent 84 percent of North America’s surface fresh water, according to the EPA.

The Maumee is the Great Lakes’ muddiest tributary, not a bad thing, as it is also the fishiest. Residents of the Maumee watershed, many of whom consume or care about fish, we are faced with challenges.

The “Muddy Maumee” is faced with both physical pollution in the form of litter and garbage, and biological pollution in the form of industrial, agricultural and (sub)urban toxic runoff and probably hazardous waste pollution, too.

How can we protect the largest Great Lakes tributary (Maumee) and our freshwater lake? With our river and Lake Erie having more consumable fish than all the other Great Lakes combined, it makes sense to do our part in keeping a clean, safe and healthy ecosystem where fish populations can thrive.

There are many organizations with efforts under way to protect our watershed. They have volunteer opportunities year round and some offer memberships for a higher level of involvement. Consider actively participating with any of these groups: Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Western Lake Erie Sierra Club, Partners for Clean Streams, Rain Garden Initiative, Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy, LEWAS, Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District.

In the midst of writing this article, I met a fellow water advocate who fishes the Maumee. Not here and there, but every day and with great success. I have a feeling that when he takes me out on his boat this week, I’ll have my first Maumee fish on the hook and perhaps my first Maumee blue gill dinner.

Jurich: Celebrating water at Maumee Bay River Festival

Toledo is a city that is something of a clean slate, welcoming new and different ideas, programs, businesses and art as it re-creates itself — or as we re-create it.

As a citizen conscious of my surroundings and concerned about our ecosystem, I have thought about the Great Lakes and our local watershed, often wondering what its future looks like. Industry and capitalism are threats to a thriving biology and ecology in the largest surface fresh water system in the world.

To bring more awareness to these issues that threaten the invaluable fresh water system in our community, and also to celebrate an amazing resource and geographical icon, I decided to bring together some of Toledo’s amazing businesses, organizations and musicians to create the Maumee Bay River Festival.

The one-day festival will be held Sept. 30 from 1-10 p.m. (after Race for the Cure). Tickets are $5 at the gate and include a free stainless steel water bottle, courtesy of Republic Services of Ohio, a sponsor of the festival.

The festival, above all, will demonstrate how connected we are to our local watershed and how most of what we do affects our rivers, streams and lake. We should understand how we have an “unlimited” amount of water in our sinks, toilets and showers, and also recognize that as a gift, not as something to take for granted. Environmental organizations, water recreation groups, businesses and others will have booths set up at the festival to share information.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit Lake Erie Waterkeeper, a 501(c)3, whose mission is “to preserve, protect and improve the watersheds, waters and fish of Lake Erie, the Great Lakes’ warmest, shallowest, most biologically productive lake, and to increase public awareness through collaboration, education and advocacy.”

Metroparks of Toledo Area, a sponsor of the festival and organizing participant, will have tours of the future Middlegrounds Metropark from 1-6 p.m. The Middlegrounds is located between Owens Corning and the Amtrak station along the river.

Another organizing participant and sponsor as well as festival host is the Maumee Bay Brewing Co., located in the Oliver House at 27 Broadway St. Oliver House will be opening its side yard for the festival, which can be moved inside in the event of rain. Not only does the Maumee Bay Brewing Co. use water from our local watershed in the brewing of its beers, it is located across the street from the Maumee River, so it wasn’t hard for general manager Neal Kovacik to jump on board. He also has a personal connection to the river as he is out fishing and kayaking on the Maumee every Sunday.

In honor of the festival, Maumee Bay Brewing Co. is brewing an exclusive festival brew, a bourbon porter called the Maumee Sturgeon Ale. This will be available on tap and released at the festival.

There will also be musical entertainment throughout the day. Toledo’s finest will be gracing the stage, including Russ Franzen, a writer of folk songs of the Great Lakes, Rachel Richardson, Patrick Lewandowski, The Estar Cohen Project, The Antivillains and Ramona Collins. You may not want to leave the stage — even to go inside the Oliver House to order food or walk down the street to the metropark or across the street to explore the native prairie pathway on Owens Corning’s campus.

Other off-site festival attractions include cruises down the Maumee on The Sandpiper and viewing of the U.S. Coast Guard Toledo Station boat. Both vessels will be docked Downtown on Water Street at the bottom of Jefferson Street. Tickets should be purchased for the one-hour Sandpiper cruises at the festival for only $2! These cruises are fun, informational and beautiful. Two cruises will be offered, at 3:30 and 5 p.m. Glass City Pedicabs will be on site to transport you from the festival to the boats.

It is encouraging to see how many people are already doing their part to create and maintain a healthy ecosystem and watershed. Come to the Maumee Bay River Festival to meet with like-minded individuals and celebrate such a powerful part of our community. The Maumee River and Lake Erie have been here long before the city of Toledo ever existed and will live on as residents of this earth long after, and it is up to us to honor a wiser and greater part of ourselves.

Jurich: Home from Europe

I spent the last five weeks traveling in Europe with my partner Ben. I will start out answering the most common questions I am asked: We went to England (Bristol), France (Toulon, Cassis, Corsica), Italy (Levanto, Tuscany, Florence), Spain (Seville, Malaga, Barcelona); I don’t know if we “backpacked”…we carried backpacks, and we had a tent. (We only used the tent once as a last resort on a rainy night at a far from ideal campground.) I’m not sure what factors must be present to be “backpacking through Europe” so I cannot give a direct ‘yes’ or ‘no’; Yes, we had an inspiring and exciting experience.

We covered more ground that the aforementioned small towns, island and cities. Our rental car took us through and to Genova, Pisa, Cannes and the rest of the beautiful southern coast of France (continuously throwing Euros out the window every 20km at a toll stop) and then through several towns in the Chianti wine region in Tuscany. We stayed at a friend’s house, a campground, a French ceramist’s cottage on work trade, the floor of two overnight ferry boats, an apartment and villa in a vineyard (we were with my family for this part), a bedroom/hostel in an old giggly Italian woman’s home in Florence, more hostel’s and pensions throughout and a miniscule bedroom in Barcelona (Airbnb).

I came across many other travelers and tourists, German, Australian and American. Many Americans were college-aged and intent on partying through Europe, displaying an embarrassingly immature elitism, expressing no concern for the volume of their voice, the dress of their clothes or behavior (i.e. motioning a suggested throw of an American football to any one of the eight elder Italian men stationed next to the once quaint inlet where they regularly watch the days go by).

This played into some of the stigmas abroad about Americans. I learned in prior travels in Brazil and Central America that people there perceive all Americans as wealthy. Selfishly wealthy, according to the Guatemalan that called our country “Los Estados Banditos”. In Europe it seemed that more people were curious to learn where we stood with our current political situation. (Europeans are more familiar with American politics than I am with theirs.) Some saw the U.S. as a country of abundance and expanse.

Vernazza, Italy

There are many customs, policies, institutions and behaviors in this land mass governed by the United States of America that I am not proud of, whether I’m home or abroad. I find them wasteful, like the built-in obsolescence of the majority of our consumer goods, or the packaging of our food products. I find them inefficient, like the economic development decisions made by the City of Toledo. I find them unethical, like the way our natural resources are depleted for those obsolescent consumer goods. I find them degrading, like the laws that prohibit same sex marriages. I find them corrupt, like the majority of the political, financial and criminal justice systems that operate in our country. I also find them heartbreaking, like the continuous funding for and implementation of military warfare.

This does not make me “unpatriotic”, this makes me an opinionated and somewhat skeptical human. In observing the protests, rebellions and revolutions throughout the world that have happened over the last year, I realize that no matter in which country one lives, there are still the pros and cons.

Spending five weeks in Europe brought to light the pros of our North American culture and country. I realized that as I became slightly homesick toward the end of the trip, it wasn’t a specific food or thing that I missed, it was the comforts of what home has to offer. Some of those comforts can be found wherever you set up a home, like a consistent and familiar bed, fresh clothes and homemade coffee in the morning. Some are particular to the part of the world that is my home, familiar faces, familiar sounds and familiar and favorite ways to pass time.

The United States has more interesting and beautiful places to visit that I could cover in a lifetime. The people are just as delightful as anywhere else in the world. The food here is everything and anything in bigger cities and hearty and comfort in small towns, but I am happy to be home and have a garden and kitchen to make my own. It is a great place to come home to where memories, past and new, await. Now if our government can skip this cursory care act and implement universal health care, then our country and its people will be considerably better off.

Third Space is frontier of forward-thinking community innovation

Third Space is going into full bloom, having developed conceptually and physically during the winter months. Third Space is home to three entities and offers a “third space” in addition to a person’s typical two spaces — work and home. Located in the Davis Building, a hard-to-miss yet somehow-missed building Downtown on Michigan Street between Monroe Street and Jefferson Avenue, Third Space encompasses headquarters for the Lucas County Green Party, B-Bop Records and the Media Decompression Collective (MDC).

The concept of sharing a common space is not new, yet it is still considered unconventional. What is new is the manner in which a political party walks the talk of grassroots democracy, decentralization, sustainability and community-based economics. By collaborating to share expenses, the Green Party fosters a sustainable way to support a space for itself and a local business and for a community space for arts and activism.

A portion of the art aspect in Third Space is the Media Decompression Collective Toledo (MDC), which MDC supports efforts toward collective social change by providing screenings of independent films and documentaries that have a focus on social, political and environmental issues. Before its new home in Third Space, MDC had semipermanent locations but mainly traveled with its projector to various establishments in Toledo, including screening at an outdoor film series. MDC typically screens films once a month. Since it is a collective, MDC is always open to community members who are preselecting independent films and organizing screenings.

The business and most visible tenant in Third Space is B-Bop Records. Amjad Doumani has owned B-Bop Records since 1987. He had operated online since closing his brick-and-mortar shop in 1994. Third Space has allowed B-Bop to reopen a storefront and put an extensive selection of new and used LPs, CDs, 45s, videos, books, magazines, memorabilia and rare music collectibles on the shelves once again.

In addition to stocking the shelves, B-Bop Records has a calendar stocked with an eclectic assortment of events that, otherwise, may have never found their way to Toledo. On May 5, Third Space is welcoming Dr. John Fielder of North Queensland, Australia as he presents “Basic Principles of Natural Healing” from 2-4 p.m. He will explain why and how we need to change some of our usual habits in order to regain or maintain our health into old age.

This spring and summer, Third Space will be open during the Arts Commission’s Art Walk. The first one is May 10, and local independent writer and published author Craig A. Combs will perform a solo reading at Third Space. A former resident of the Old West End, Combs has returned recently with “a transformed, and some would say visionary, perspective on life, following two decades of living in the Deep South and traveling around the world on his personal quest for truth and self-discovery.” He will share stories from his recently published book, “Taking Tea in the Black Rose: Singing Through the Shadows Until We’re Dancing in the Light,” from 7-9 p.m.

Following the Art Walk will be a live concert by Tim Kaiser: Live Electro-acoustic & Electronic Music Soundscapes, starting at 10 p.m. sharp. An international performer for more than 30 years, Kaiser will bring his own custom made electro-acoustic and electronic instruments to create ethereal sonic atmospheres. Doumani says this is a show not to be missed.

To top these off, Toledo native artist-expressionist Wade A. Harrison will be conducing a live painting demonstration all day May 15. Wade will be painting a portrait of Sun Ra, which will then be gifted to B-Bop Records for permanent display. The demo will be during B-Bop’s regular store hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Third Space can be rented for meetings, fundraisers, book clubs and performances. It has been home to organizing for groups such as Shut Down Davis-Besse, Justice for Danny Brown and Occupy Toledo. There is a progressive library, free Wi-Fi, coffee and tea and a lounge area.

An appreciation and passion for art and music, forward thinking and community engagement permeates the air at Third Space. Social justice and the betterment of the community, its people and the environment are at the forefront. Third Space is paving its way on an unprecedented and truly progressive path.